Imagine that you are running a family business that you love, producing a product that people want. But the cost of producing the product is more than the price you get paid for it—for reasons that you have no control over.

That is what faces many dairy farmers across the country. Sadly in California some of the long term family dairies are facing bankruptcy.

Now imagine that some nutjob know-nothings come in with a large bankroll and bring a frivolous lawsuit against your way of life.

That is what happened when PETA brought suit saying that California’s Happy Cows aren’t really happy like they show in the TV ads.

The Sacramento Superior Court for the State of California denied PETA’s claims that the promotional messages are false and misleading.
In his ruling Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lloyd G. Connelly said,

PETA's claims were not supported "by the knowledge" of California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) personnel related to the condition of California dairy cows and farms, including CDFA economists and veterinarians.

He said both CDFA California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) and CMAB personnel have "extensive experience and knowledge that provides strong evidentiary support" for the Happy Cows promotion and that supports CMAB's position that California dairy producers "work hard to ensure the comfort, health and productivity of their cows," adhering to "some of the highest animal welfare standards in the U.S." Source

One of my long time favorite blogs is Northview Diary written by a woman whose family runs a dairy farm in upstate New York. Marianne writes most poignantly about the joys and heartaches of their lives.

Each of their cows has her own name and her own unique personality. The affection they have for each cow is not unlike the way we feel about our dogs and cats.

Interestingly, a study showed that cows that have names give more milk over the course of a year.
As one researcher said,

Just as people respond better to the personal touch, cows also feel happier and more relaxed if they are given a bit more one-to-one attention.

PETA gives attention to animals by killing them.PETA kills over 95% of the animals in their care every year according to their own records which they are required to file with the state of Virginia.

Some shelters seem to think so. But it’s more like emotional blackmail.

What other business says, “Buy this dress or we will tear it to shreds.” “Buy this house or we’ll burn it down.” It has no value so if no one buys it, we’ll just destroy it.

Some shelters insist on presenting dogs as pathetic losers on death row rather than warm, loving potential family members.

Emily Tanen was fired by the Manhattan branch of Animal Care and Control of New York City for taking photos of animals who were scheduled to be euthanized. Hoping to attract the interest of adopters and rescue groups, she was doing a good job from all evidence.

Ms. Tanen who was hired as a liaison between the shelter and rescue groups believed that the animals were being photographed poorly. With her art background and $1500 Nikon she began taking her own pictures until she was fired for ignoring shelter policy.

She photographed mostly pitbulls on death row: close ups of sweet faces or of the dogs interacting with humans.

In the words of the real estate marketers she was giving them curb appeal.

However, she was told that taking photos was not part of her job description and she was violating the strict policy of who can photograph the dogs and how they can be photographed. One rule prohibits showing humans, even human hands, in the pictures.

“I think they just didn’t want photos of animals that they were about to kill looking cute and adoptable and happy with people, but they said it was because their research showed that photos with people didn’t encourage people to adopt,” she said. Source

Care and Control officials would not comment on the research that led to their policy or on Ms. Tanen’s departure, saying that they do not discuss personnel matters.

We understand the need to have firm policies in place and they have the right to fire anyone who ignores the policies. But we would like to see the research that supports their policy of taking mug shots of inmates rather than allowing the dogs to be photographed in the best possible light.

Charlie is a story of love and bonding between the author and her Golden Retriever, Charlie, until his death and beyond.

Although she loved dogs all her life, Lambert was never allowed to have one as a child. As an adult, she filled her life with dogs.

She and her husband had two dogs, a two-year-old Golden Retriever and a one-year-old Afghan Hound, when one day they walked into a pet store and saw Charlie.

Charlie didn’t quite have a purebred look and he was thirteen weeks old, much older and larger than pet store dogs usually are. But somehow Lambert and Charlie had a connection besides having the same birthday. The next day she went back to the pet store and bought him.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I love dogs. I love books. But reading it became a depressing chore to me.

Through his whole life she tells us that Charlie had many physical problems. Puppy mill dog? Probably. But you don’t love your dog any less because of his origin.

The book is comprised of excerpts from her journal, starting in 2001 when Charlie was eleven-years-old and it ends with his death at age fourteen.

Through these final years Charlie has one minor and life threatening condition after another, including bouts with cancer and removal of an eye. She recounts each in great detail with fear and determination not to lose him at any cost because (of course we all understand) she really loves this dog.

Although she mentions earlier happy times with Charlie, I wish she had brought in more of these times instead of the unrelenting sadness that was the overall tone of the book.

Pet photographer Seth Casteel became an overnight
sensation with his photos of dogs
underwater. When the photos were posted on the internet by his fans, his own
website went from 200 hits to 30,000, causing his site to crash.

His underwater dogs, ranging from playful to goofy, gave us a new look at dogs in their real world.

Casteel quickly went from not having enough business to having too much.

He has signed a book
deal featuring his underwater dogs which will be out in late October and has been
featured on network TV and print publications across the world.

But in spite of his
commercial success, his priority is for the nonprofit he founded, Second Chance
Photos, which professionally photographs shelter pets to increase adoptions and save
their lives. Second Chance Photos grew out of his volunteer work at a shelter
in Los Angeles.

Sad little faces
looking out of a cage do not help the dogs’ chances of winning hearts. Casteel’s
mission is to save the animals though quality photographs and marketing. He
travels across the country training shelter volunteers and staff to take
professional photographs.

“My whole thing is that I do what the pets like to do. I don’t put them
in the studio. I do it on their terms and embrace what they like to do,” Casteel
says.

Casteel took his
first underwater photo of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel by diving into the
pool with the dog to get a better vantage point. Pleased with the results he made an investment to buy an underwater housing for his camera. And a brilliant career was launched.

Researchers at the University of Helsinki believe that tail chasing may be a sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder in dogs.

Like humans suffering from OCD, the behavior starts early in life. Tail chasing dogs are more likely to demonstrate other compulsive behaviors like compulsive licking. Among other findings, tail chasers were shyer and had been separated from their mothers earlier than the control group. Dogs that received vitamins and minerals expressed less tail chasing compared to dogs that did not
receive any supplements.

Questionnaires were given to owners of 368 dogs from four different breeds, including Standard and Miniature Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and German Shepherds.

Yes, there are people who have spent a great deal of their time studying dogs chasing their tails and compiling graphs. And, yes, I think it would be a fun job too, but it isn’t as frivolous as it might seem.

The more we understand about genetic and environmental causes of dog behavior, the more we can understand human behavior. Besides, college professors must publish results of research or they might find themselves actually having to teach students.

I’ve been around a few dogs who loved to chase their tails. I thought they were just trying to get attention. Now I feel kind of bad about laughing at them.

Through the years we have made fun of had fun with written posts about Tom Brady and his dogs and his photoshoots. So we couldn’t resist following up with this cover on VMAN magazine coming out this week.

While the cover would not be suitable for, say, Dog Fancy or Family Circle, apparently the editorial staff believes that it will attract a large readership to the interview with Tom on how much he loves his family, how cuddly he really is, and Life Beyond Football.

We aren't sure why they think the cover, the interview, or the pictures inside make him America's alpha dog. But then we have never had an offer to edit a men's magazine.

We do like that he used his celebrity a while back to rescue Lua the Pit Bull and talk about what a great family pet she is.

But Boston has a Dangerous Dog ordinance that covers Pit Bulls. According to the Boston Herald none of the heavy restrictions on other Pit Bulls in Boston apply to Lua.

It could be because Lua's owner has taken the team to four Super Bowls and won three, was selected to six Pro Bowls, makes over $72 million, is married to a millionaire super model, owns several homes outside of Boston, and has really great hair.

But we’re just guessing.

However, we are grateful to Tom Brady for inspiring a series of posts on macho men who admit they love tiny dogs after he insisted in a later post that the little Yorkie in his bicycle basket “belongs to my wife.”

You would think that someone contending to be America's alpha dog would have the footballs in his shorts to admit that the tiny dog was his.

Probably posing with a Poodle on the cover of VMAN wouldn't cut it. Image is everything applies to dogs too.

Some of you are probably following the Saga of Missy, the injured 100-pound German Shepherd dog who was abandoned on a 13,000 feet mountain peak in Colorado and rescued eight days later by a group of volunteers.

Right now the story is full of emotionalism, allegations, charges and countercharges, but it will be interesting to see how the story plays out in October when it comes to court.

The story addresses many questions of the relationship between humans and dogs. Central to the story is the internet.

According to the dog’s owner, Anthony Ortalani, he was forced to leave the dog in early August as a storm was moving in. The dog couldn’t walk because of blisters on her feet and he was concerned for the safety of a young hiker who accompanied him.

He was told that official search and rescue teams respond only to calls to help humans. He couldn’t go back up the mountain himself because his job took him out of town.

Days later Scott and Amanda Washburn found Missy hungry and dehydrated on a pile of bloody rocks when they were hiking in the area away from the trail. They bandaged her wounds and gave her food and water while they went for help.

When they were told that no official rescue could take place, they posted her picture and asked for help from 14ers.com, a social networking site for mountain climbers.

A team of eight volunteers answered the call for help. Rain turned to snow which made the rescue even more perilous. They were able to rescue the dog eight days after she was left behind by rigging slings and backpacks and taking turns carrying the injured 100-pound dog off the mountain.

Ortolani stepped forward to claim his dog.

"I am ashamed that it wasn't me who got her off of the mountain, I underestimated the good will and resolve of the hiking community of Colorado, and I am eternally grateful," Ortolani wrote on a 14ers.com message board.

This has sparked an angry debate on the website over whether he deserved to get his dog back. The Washburns want to adopt Missy for themselves.

"We understand that he had to leave her there," Scott Washburn said. "My wife and I did the same thing. But we ended up going back for her, and we went to some pretty extreme lengths to do so. In my opinion, that is not a responsible dog owner, who doesn't really care about her."

Authorities seem to agree or perhaps are giving in to public pressure. They have charged Ortolani with animal cruelty. He is scheduled to appear in court on October 16 when this can all be sorted out.

In the meantime Missy is being cared for by a veterinarian who reports that she should have no permanent injuries from the ordeal. She is in surprisingly good shape considering what she has gone through.

I realize public agencies are not wallowing in money. But across the country we have seen multiple instances of trained, equipped responders helping “just a dog” because they realize how important dogs are to their owners.

And they also realize that there are many untrained good Samaritans willing to step in and endanger their own lives.

We’re celebrating our 7th year of celebrating the remarkable, the ordinary and the very funny dogs who live among us. And other topics…

Among the other topics, we keep finding dog stories that bring into question the superior intelligence of humans.

SO… as a public service to show appreciation to our readers and a retrospective Remembrance of Things Past, we have dug through the archives to find some of the things that people should not do. (Not that any of you would do these.)

1. Don’t bark at a police dog and insist that it is free speech when you get arrested. You will have to put on a shirt and tie and hire a lawyer and go to court. The lawyer will charge you a lot of money and will not be very good or he wouldn’t take a case like this one. (Post)

2. Don’t pee on the office door of a colleague from your department at a university, no matter how many differences you have with him. Surveillance cameras are easy to install. Even if you explain that you are an alpha dog marking your territory, a misdemeanor charge of urinating in public does not look good on an academic résumé. (Post)

3. If you are an animal rights organization with “United States” as part of your name, don’t come out with your own vegan dog food and outsource it to Paraguay. No one knows where Paraguay is, but it doesn’t sound like a good place to cook food. People will laugh at you and begin to understand what your vegan agenda is all about. (Post)

4. Dog poop is not free speech. Don’t send it to your congresswoman even if you disagree with her and are tired of receiving her mailers. You will be charged with a crime, have to hire a lawyer and go to court. You will be known as the Dog Poop Lady. (Post)

5. It might not be a good idea to take your dog to work if you are a burglar. If the dog is trapped in the place you have just robbed, in the morning he will lead the police directly to your home. (Post)

6. Even if you get a ticket for parking in front of your own home, don’t put dog poop in an envelope with your fine, your name, and your address. People who receive dog poop in an envelope have no sense of humor about it. You will be fined $2,921, given a 90-day jail sentence, and have to write a letter of apology to the person who opened the envelope. (Post)

7. Do not grab a bag from anyone walking a dog. If you think for a minute you will realize what is in it. (Post)

8. If you see a person with a guide dog coming toward you, step out of the way. Don’t just stand there to “see if the dog would walk around me” and allow your toe to be broken. And if you sue the non-profit organization that owns the dog, you can expect to receive enough angry calls that you will withdraw the suit. (Post)

9. Don’t register your dog to vote no matter how easy it is or what message you want to send. And don’t send in the ballot signed with a paw print even if it isn’t marked. These people have no sense of humor and you could be charged with a felony. (Post)

10. Don’t take a wiz through a knothole in a fence if you don’t know what is on the other side. It may be a playful puppy thinking he has found a new squirt toy. You will have to go to the hospital and explain what happened. You will suffer great pain and the embarrassment of having your name printed in newspapers and blogs like this all over the world. (Post)

11. Don’t try to smuggle drugs into jail hidden in your bra. Even if you put them in a balloon smeared with coffee, Vicks VapoRub and pepper, the dog will narc you out. A dog can distinguish between spaghetti sauce containing basil and one without. Never trifle with the nose of a dog. (Post)

12. Don’t flash your private parts at a woman walking a German Shepherd dog who doesn’t like men anyway. You will give new meaning to the term taking a bite out of crime. (Post)

13. No one has ever gotten a free purebred Bulldog or Yorkie puppy from a missionary in Nigeria or Cameroon, no matter how sincere they sound in their email or how much they love the puppy and just want to find a loving home. (Post)

14. If you’re taking part in a teachers’ protest rally at your state capital, don’t hold up a homemade sign that says, “UNIONS OUR MY CUP OF TEA.” (Post)

15. If you live in Minneapolis, don’t try to send a puppy through the mail to your son in Georgia even if there are no signs in the post office telling you not to do it. Then if you get arrested and go to court, don’t ask to get the puppy, the postage and the mailing box back. That will just keep you in the news for several more weeks. (Post)